Elizabeth Nee

A 3-D printed spinning wheel bobbin (for a Lendrum using a WooLee Winder) full to the brim of a 2-ply yarn. Both plies are Rambouillet naturally dyed in 2 different shades of purple. Also shown is a different, larger 3D printed spinning wheel bobbin (for a Daedalus Starling espinner showing all that remains of the singles I had more of. I didn’t measure it out, but it is probably a few yards at most.

#SundaysAreForSpinning : I finished my first #Handspinning project in a whole. Rambouillet naturally dyed by @petalandhank.bsky.social in two different shades of purple. Spun separately and then plied together. #HandspunYarn 🧶

This afternoon we learned that our oldest put a carton of choc. milk in his backpack (maybe on Thursday?), and that it leaked all over the contents of his backpack. The fact that the dog kept sniffing and licking the bag should’ve tipped us off sooner. At least the electronics were ok.

I did, only because 1) my dad is from Richland County 2) he has an interest in geology (he did amateur spelunking in college) and 3) he’s taken me the the UW Geology Museum

I stumbled across the concept of “blindsight” on Wikipedia. It’s a when people have a form of brain damage that destroys their primary visual cortex (rendering them blind), but they show behaviors that indicate that some unconscious parts of their brain are still processing visual input. Fascinating

Flat lay of 3 knitting projects in progress. At the top is the biggest project, the start of a top (Flow by Trin-Annelie). It started with 1x1 twisted ribbing for the collar, and then the pattern moved into cables, which periodically get wider as the circular yoke increases are added. I’ve separated the body from the sleeves—the remainder is worked in reverse stockinette. It’s knit with a light blue fingering weight 50/50 blend of cotton and superwash merino, dyed by Fiber MacGyver in the colorway “Bahama.” Next is the start of a child sweater (Compass by Tin Can Knits) with a colorwork yoke being knit with a dark red (super old Louet Gems Sportweight) and white (undyed KnitPicks High Desert Sport). At the bottom is a rectangle knit in brioche stitch. Every 6 rows, the brk and the brp switch places. The yarn is a DK farm yarn made from a brown Cormo named Hershey (the one I posed with). The pattern is Biscuit Slipover by Bridget Zhou.

#WIPWednesday: slow going on the slog of stockinette. I finished the colorwork yoke but it may be too small (misread the instructions for the first set of increases), so to put off making a decision, I got a belated start on my project for the #OctobervestMAL . #Knitting #Knitsky 🧶

I read about a time study in Virginia Postrel’s book, “The Fabric of Civilization,” that calculated that more hours of work went into the sails of a Viking ship than all the rest of the ship.

Your numbers match an adage that I’ve heard, that it takes 10 hand spinners to supply 1 hand weaver, but 1 handspinner can supply 10 hand knitters. I knit and spin (I can use a drop spindle, but prefer wheels) and have dabbled on weaving, and it sounds right to me.

Except for the swatch, which is Harrisville Designs Highland, all yarn and pattern details are in the alt text.

Flat lay of knitting projects I progress. The biggest is a the start of a top (Flow by Trin-Annelie) it started with 1x1 twisted ribbing for the collar, and then the pattern moved into cables, which periodically get wider as the circular yoke increases are added. I’ve separated the body from the sleeves—the remainder is worked in reverse stockinette. It’s knit with a light blue fingering weight 50/50 blend of cotton and superwash merino, dyed by Fiber MacGyver in the colorway “Bahama.” Next largest is the start of a child sweater (Compass by Tin Can Knits) with a colorwork yoke being knit with a dark red (super old Louet Gems Sportweight) and white (undyed KnitPicks High Desert Sport). Finally, there’s a swatch in lice stitch (background color blue, white lice).

#WIPWednesday : I even took a photo last week, but forgot to post in time.

#Knitting #Knitsky 🧶

I look forward to reading them. I’ve read hints about the fights they had with network suits over that episode, but nothing more detailed than that. And RDM didn’t start doing his podcast commentaries until the next episode.

A Daedalus Starling espinner with some spun singles in a light purple color. Also pictured are the remaining fiber in this color that hasn’t yet been spun, plus a bobbin containing spun singles in a darker purple.

#SundaysAreForSpinning : I haven’t been spinning or knitting as much as usual lately. But I did spin up about half of the lighter colored fiber from this 2-color ply pack from @petalandhank.bsky.social . #Handspinning 🧶

Maybe this is my own ignorance, but isn’t the parks dept. a subsidiary of the city? How does this help?

A 3D printed espinner bobbin with medium purple singles

#SundaysAreForSpinning : I finished up 2 ounces of naturally dyed Rambouillet. #Handspinning 🧶

A metal wagon fully loaded with apples (I know there are Honeycrisp, Wealthy, and a couple other varieties developed by the U of MN), chestnut crabapples (which were fun to eat on their own), and a couple varieties of pears, whose names I’ve forgotten.

Getting ready to grind and press the apples, crabapples, and pears.

About half the wagon load made this much of the melange of all 3, plus about 3 more gallons of just apple and crabapples cider

Me (a woman in overalls, a hat, and sunglasses) making friends with Hershey. He’s a brown Cormo wether, and he’s wearing a coat to keep his fleece nice.

Today I had a wonderful afternoon with my “Crafty Dabblers” group. One of our members hosted us. We picked apples, crabapples, and pears; pressed them into cider; and I got to meet Hershey, a Cormo whose yarn I just started a project with.

Flat lay of multiple knitting projects in progress. The biggest project is a shawl (Birds of a Feather by Andrea Mowry) knit with a smooth sock yarn and a fluffy alpaca/silk. They are stripes, not held together. Both yarns are the same colorway—a seafoam with specked of green and teal (“April Showers” dyed by Beachy Breeze Fibers on their Boardwalk Sock and Suri Silk Lace bases). It started as a triangle with steep increases. It’s long enough I had to fold it, which obscures its current shape. The next biggest is a the start of a top (Flow by Trin-Annelie) it started with 1x1 twisted ribbing for the collar, and then the pattern moved into cables, which periodically get wider as the circular yoke increases are added. I’ve separated the body from the sleeves—the remainder is worked in reverse stockinette. It’s knit with a light blue fingering weight 50/50 blend of cotton and superwash merino, dyed by Fiber MacGyver in the colorway “Bahama.” There’s the start of a child sweater (Compass by Tin Can Knits) with a colorwork yoke being knit with a dark red (super old Louet Gems Sportweight) and white (undyed KnitPicks High Desert Sport). Lastly is a swatch in brioche stitch using a naturally brown Cormo.

#WIPWednesday : I’m nearing the end of the shawl, separated the sleeves from the body on the blue top, started a sweater for my daughter, and swatched for my project for the #OctobervestMAL . #Knitting #Knitsky🧶

Every year we indicate we only need transportation in the PM, and every year we get a morning bus assignment.

Aiming for the look of birch bark? I’d say you nailed it!

A handspinning project in progress. On the left is a 2 ounce braid of Rambouillet naturally dyed a light lavender. On the right is a 3D printed espinner bobbin (for a Daedalus Starling) with about an ounce of darker purple singles. Below the bobbin is a ball of the remaining darker purple fiber (also naturally dyed on Rambouillet).

A plastic bit filled with rolled up batts of white Corriedale fiber. They look (and feel) like giant marshmallows.

#SundaysAreForSpinning : I took a bit of a hiatus after Tour de Fleece, but I’m starting to get back into things. I spun about half of the darker purple (naturally dyed on Rambouillet), and finished carding just over 450g of Corriedale. #Handspinning #FiberPrep 🧶

Flat lay of three knitting projects in progress. The smallest is a dark red square—a stockinette swatch. The biggest project is a shawl (Birds of a Feather by Andrea Mowry) knit with a smooth sock yarn and a fluffy alpaca/silk. They are stripes, not held together. Both yarns are the same colorway—a seafoam with specked of green and teal (“April Showers” dyed by Beachy Breeze Fibers on their Boardwalk Sock and Suri Silk Lace bases). It started as a triangle with steep increases. It’s long enough I had to fold it, which obscures its current shape. Below is a the start of a top (Flow by Trin-Annelie) it started with 1x1 twisted ribbing for the collar. Now the pattern has moved into cables, which periodically get wider as the circular yoke increases are added. It’s knit with a light blue fingering weight 50/50 blend of cotton and superwash merino, dyed by Fiber MacGyver in the colorway “Bahama.”

#WIPWednesday : still plugging away at the same projects as last week, plus a swatch for a sweater for my daughter, using some of the oldest yarn in my stash. #Knitting #KnitSky 🧶

Temperature blankets are a common project for knitting and crocheting. I’ve only seen them for a year’s worth of data, not longitudinal like this.

A Daedalus Martin espinner (3D printed, black with blue trim) with a finished bobbin of grey Cheviot singles

Two old screen windows with washed fleece on them sitting on a cement driveway in the sun. This is a champagne colored Bond fleece. It was 1.5 pounds prior to scouring.

It’s been a while since I did #SundaysAreForSpinning . I finished the second bobbin of grey Cheviot (I’m aiming for a 3-ply sock weight) and I scoured fleece yesterday and today. It’s the first time this summer that I’ve done any scouring. #Handspinning

Flat lay of two knitting projects in progress. On the top is a shawl (Birds of a Feather by Andrea Mowry) knit with a smooth sock yarn and a fluffy alpaca/silk. They are stripes, not held together. Both yarns are the same colorway—a seafoam with specked of green and teal (“April Showers” dyed by Beachy Breeze Fibers on their Boardwalk Sock and Suri Silk Lace bases). It started as a triangle with steep increases. It’s long enough I had to fold it, which obscures its current shape. Below is a the start of a top (Flow by Trin-Annelie) it started with 1x1 twisted ribbing for the collar. Now the pattern has moved into cables, which periodically get wider as the circular yoke increases are added. It’s knit with a light blue fingering weight 50/50 blend of cotton and superwash merino, dyed by Fiber MacGyver in the colorway “Bahama.”

#WIPWednesday : same projects as last week (details in the alt text). I took several days off while my mom was visiting, but we were out doing things, which meant I didn’t get as much knitting done as I thought I would. #Knitting #KnitSky

Photographer: Richard Tsong-Taatarii

Yes, this is the one that got me, too, for all the reasons you described. I don’t know this area well, but it looks like any street with a school. It was all too easy for me to picture myself in her shoes (or rather, out of them).

An image from the aftermath of the shooting at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis. In the foreground is a woman running in the middle is a street. She is running away from the camera, towards a school in the background. She has her wallet in her hands, and also her shoes, which she presumably took off so she could run faster. You can see the bottom of one of her feet, and dirt is visible (again, presumably from running barefoot).

Of all the photos posted by the Strib related to the shooting at Annunciation Church, this was the one that got me the most. Maybe because we cant see the (presumably) mom’s face, so it seems more universal? arc.stimg.co/startribunem...?

Both of those are gorgeous! That sweater modeled looks even better than it looked in the case!

A display case of award-winning handknit items at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. At the center is my entry, a cardigan with a wide garter band that forms the collar and fronts. There are no fastenings, and it’s a warm grey. It got 2nd place in the category “adult sweater, cardigan, plain.” But it got to be displayed in the winner’s case because it also got the award for best use of handspun. Pattern is Maeve by Carrie Bostick Hoge. The yarn is a blend I carded myself, using 50% grey Romeldale/CVM that I scoured myself and two commercially processed fibers: 30% grey baby alpaca top, and 20% peduncle silk top.

Another display case of award-winning handknit items at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. The center of this photo is a pair of handknit socks that took 5th place in the plain socks category. They have white toes and cuffs, while the body of the socks is a gradient yarn that shifts from light blue and the cuffs through darker blue and then green at the toes. They have an unusual construction—short rows at the cuffs are used to set up knitting the body on the bias. There is no heel flap or a short row heel. Increases and decreases are used to work the turn. The pattern is Miter Joint by Shuyi Wu. The white yarn is Baah Yarn Savannah in colorway “La Perla.” The gradient yarn is Laines du Nord Watercolor Sock in colorway 101.

A display case of award-winning handspun yarn at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. The piece in focus is a pink tweedy 2-ply Shetland/sari silk blend that took 2nd place in the blended fibers category. It was spun from a Color Pop batt from Mellyknits.

A display case of award-winning handspun yarn at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. The main skein in focus is a yarn that took 4th place in the art yarn category. It was spun from a batt with blues, purples, and teal. It was thread-plied with a purple thread with purple beads every so often. The batt was from Fat Cat Knits.

I went to the MN State Fair today with my mom and kids. It was a perfect day for it. I also got to see my ribbon winners in person. Details in the alt text. #MNStateFair #KnitSky #Handspinning

I’m overdue to donate to Cashman. I should donate to Fateh, too. Hell, I’ll throw in for Davis and Hampton, too.

Flat lay of two knitting projects in progress. On the top is a shawl (Birds of a Feather by Andrea Mowry) knit with a smooth sock yarn and a fluffy alpaca/silk. They are stripes, not held together. Both yarns are the same colorway—a seafoam with specked of green and teal (“April Showers” dyed by Beachy Breeze Fibers on their Boardwalk Sock and Suri Silk Lace bases). It started as a triangle with steep increases. I don’t have as much yarn as called for, so I’ve stopped increasing and you can see the start of a straight edge on the right side. Below is a the start of a top (Flow by Trin-Annelie) it started with 1x1 twisted ribbing for the collar. Now the pattern has moved into cables, which periodically get wider as the circular yoke increases are added. It’s knit with a light blue fingering weight 50/50 blend of cotton and superwash merino, dyed by Fiber MacGyver in the colorway “Bahama.”

#WIPWednesday : this past weekend I spent a lot of time in the car (we were up near the CA-MN border). I was not driving, so I got a lot of knitting done. Pattern and yarn details in the alt text. #Knitting #KnitSky 🧶

Flat lay of multiple handknits in progress. On the right is the start of a top-down raglan tee (Purple Coke by Katrin Schneider) and the two cones of yarns being used for it. They are fine weight and a mid-value greenish blue. One is a tweedy silk yarn (Ito Kinu) and the other is fingering weight and paper (!) twisted with rayon (ITO Washi). Most of the time the yarns are held together, but occasionally just the Kinu is used. In the middle is a circle of 1x1 twisted ribbing knit with a pale blue cotton/merino blend. It is the neckband of a topdown top. On the right is the start of a shawl (Birds of a Feather by Andrea Mowry) knit with a smooth sock yarn and a fluffy alpaca/silk. They are stripes, not held together. Both yarns are the same colorway—a seafoam with specked of green and teal. It has steep increases and the shape and orientation remind me of the Starfleet logo.

#WIPWednesday : I got mixed up on the tee on the upper left and had to rip it back. Every 8 rounds, I work 2 rounds with just one of the yarns, and I mixed up which one I was supposed to use. More progress on the shawl and I’ve started another top. #Knitting #Knitsky 🧶